The term ‘asbestos’ is used for various naturally occurring silicate minerals that, though often used as building materials until the 1990s, have since become increasingly associated with a range of health issues.
The good news is that asbestos does not pose these dangers if left disturbed. However, if you expose or damage asbestos, you can send fibres of it airborne. Inhaling these fibres would increase the risk of you developing the following health conditions.
This lung condition results from prolonged exposure to asbestos. It can take about 20 to 39 years for asbestosis symptoms to emerge as dull chest pains and shortness of breath.
Asbestosis scars the lungs — and a chest x-ray or lung function test is able to detect this damage.
Though the body’s natural defences can repel many asbestos fibres that do enter the body, large numbers of these fibres remain capable of accumulating in the lungs.
This means that pleural plaques are able to develop, though this usually does not happen until more than two decades after the earliest exposure to asbestos.
This is yet another condition that, when caused by asbestos, can take quite a while to develop.
In this instance, the symptoms do not typically manifest until 10 to 20 years following the initial exposures to asbestos. Nonetheless, the higher the exposures, the likelier it is that lung cancer will come about.
This cancer, despite its rarity, is strongly associated with asbestos exposure — especially as, though mesothelioma can build around the lungs, smoking is not a risk factor.
In common with other conditions caused by asbestos, mesothelioma can be slow to emerge after the first exposures to the fibres. The mesothelioma latency period is usually 35 to 40 years, though it has been known to be shorter in some cases.
Of course, prevention is far better than cure when it comes to any of the health issues detailed above. Fortunately, we are experienced at asbestos removal in the Auckland region, having completed this work at sensitive sites including schools and kindergartens. Feel free to phone us on 021 544 905 to learn how we could skilfully provide you with asbestos removal in Auckland.
© 2024 • Address: 23 Pukemiro Street, Onehunga, Auckland 1061 • Phone: 022 471 7355
